If we could learn one lesson in 2007 that would increase our spiritual and emotional health more than anything else, it would be this one: how to forgive. Admittedly, it’s not easy. We live in a world that vigorously teaches us how to hold grudges. “Everybody thinks forgiveness is a lovely idea,” wrote C. S. Lewis, “until he has something to forgive.”
That puts it pretty straight, doesn’t it? All of us who are aware of our sin naturally want to be forgiven. Indeed, even those who aren’t aware of their sin actually need to be forgiven, whether they know it or not.
It’s worth remembering that Jesus said that receiving forgiveness from God goes hand in hand with extending forgiveness to those who have sinned against us. Listen to His very words as recorded in Matthew 6:14-15: “If you forgive people their wrongdoing, your heavenly Father will forgive you as well. But if you don't forgive people, your Father will not forgive your wrongdoing.”
Jesus said that immediately after teaching the infant church what we call “The Lord’s Prayer,” in which one of the petitions says, “Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” That little word “as” is the important one. It means exactly what Jesus expounded upon after the prayer: if we are unwilling to give forgiveness, we don’t receive it.
Many people are too easily offended. Some almost seem to take pride in their ability to hold a grudge or in their refusal to humble themselves or in their resistance to seeking or extending forgiveness. By contrast, true Christians love forgiveness. Because of God’s forgiveness of them, they know beautiful and Godlike it is to give or get forgiveness.
So how do we learn to forgive in a grudge-keeping world?
I have one bit of advice: go to the cross. Look upon the supreme sacrifice of the Son of God, and gaze in wonder upon the agony He suffered in bearing the sins of the world. Then remember that what He bore embraced every sin you’ve ever committed, including the grudges you’ve held. Realize that His torturous death was the punishment you should have received for what you did.
Pause and ponder the cost of your forgiveness, and then consider whether it makes more sense to forgive those who have wronged you, or to keep holding onto it. I believe you’ll see the folly of unforgiveness more clearly in the light of the cross of Jesus Christ.
The testimony of the late great British preacher Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones should be the heart-cry of every Christian: “I say to the glory of God and in utter humility that whenever I see myself before God and realize even something of what my blessed Lord has done for me, I am ready to forgive anybody anything.”
Amazing words: “ready to forgive anybody anything.”
How close are you to that?
It’s time to go to the cross again.
Sunday, December 31, 2006
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
QUESTIONS OF HIS COMING
During the time leading up to Christmas, questions often arise about the day and its celebration. In fact, in this space last December, I printed a “Christmas Quiz” that raised a couple dozen questions about the details of our traditional Christmas celebrations.
Typical questions surround elements of the celebration. For example, some question why we use trees (a pagan symbol?), where He was born (a cave, a barn, or an open field?), and quite notably, when He was born (probably not December 25, was it?)
Of course, there’s a point to all these questions. They help us sift out all the cultural myths about Christmas from the biblical truths. But they may also distract us from the most important question about Christmas, and that is this: Why was Jesus born?
You see, when He was born, how He was born, and even where He was born are relatively insignificant matters. And that’s precisely why the Bible doesn’t waste any space on those matters.
But the “Why?” question: now that’s a different matter! And scripture is very clear about it. Let’s allow God’s Word to answer this one for itself.
First, here are some words Jesus spoke about Himself
"Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance" (Luke 5:31-32).
“The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:11).
“For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him” (John 3:17).
And then we have the testimony of Paul, who, before he met Jesus, loved to persecute and even kill Christians.
“The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (Titus 1:15).
There are many more passages that say the same thing. It’s clear: the whole reason for Jesus’ birth was to save people.
But see who it was He came to save! Not the righteous. Not people who were trying to clean up their lives on their own. Certainly not those who considered themselves more worthy than others.
Sinners! It was sinners that Jesus came to save. Anyone and everyone willing to admit their sin and their need of a Savior.
That’s why every church that seeks to follow Jesus has doors that are intentionally open to anyone who is willing to admit he or she is a sinner, no matter what their sin may be. Jesus didn’t come to create churches that are saint museums, filled with people who gather to congratulate themselves on how good they are in contrast to others. He came to make sinner hospitals, outposts of hope and healing, forgiveness and reconciliation.
Are you a sinner? Do you admit it? If you do, it’s clear that Jesus came to save you from your sin, and make you God’s child.
And that makes Christmas worth celebrating!
Typical questions surround elements of the celebration. For example, some question why we use trees (a pagan symbol?), where He was born (a cave, a barn, or an open field?), and quite notably, when He was born (probably not December 25, was it?)
Of course, there’s a point to all these questions. They help us sift out all the cultural myths about Christmas from the biblical truths. But they may also distract us from the most important question about Christmas, and that is this: Why was Jesus born?
You see, when He was born, how He was born, and even where He was born are relatively insignificant matters. And that’s precisely why the Bible doesn’t waste any space on those matters.
But the “Why?” question: now that’s a different matter! And scripture is very clear about it. Let’s allow God’s Word to answer this one for itself.
First, here are some words Jesus spoke about Himself
"Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance" (Luke 5:31-32).
“The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:11).
“For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him” (John 3:17).
And then we have the testimony of Paul, who, before he met Jesus, loved to persecute and even kill Christians.
“The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (Titus 1:15).
There are many more passages that say the same thing. It’s clear: the whole reason for Jesus’ birth was to save people.
But see who it was He came to save! Not the righteous. Not people who were trying to clean up their lives on their own. Certainly not those who considered themselves more worthy than others.
Sinners! It was sinners that Jesus came to save. Anyone and everyone willing to admit their sin and their need of a Savior.
That’s why every church that seeks to follow Jesus has doors that are intentionally open to anyone who is willing to admit he or she is a sinner, no matter what their sin may be. Jesus didn’t come to create churches that are saint museums, filled with people who gather to congratulate themselves on how good they are in contrast to others. He came to make sinner hospitals, outposts of hope and healing, forgiveness and reconciliation.
Are you a sinner? Do you admit it? If you do, it’s clear that Jesus came to save you from your sin, and make you God’s child.
And that makes Christmas worth celebrating!
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
CHRISTMAS EMOTIONS RUN DEEP
For Debbie and me, Christmas is a particularly poignant season. This time when the Child was born always reminds us how hard it was for us to have children. As we enjoy Jesus' birthday with our two wonderful children, Laura and David, we can't help but recollect the pain of two miscarriages, followed by the premature birth and subsequent death of twins.
On the day they were born, Aaron and Katherine were very much alive, and struggled to survive. We will never forget their valiant battle for life, their little chests heaving to draw breath. They cried, they wiggled, and they reacted in pain to the intravenous tubes inserted into their tiny bodies. They were alive. If born today, they would likely continue to live.
And yet, these living persons, little Aaron and Katherine, could have been legally aborted an hour before they were born, if we had been predisposed to do so. It would have been legal – and it would have been monstrous!
Debbie and I will never be the same, having held them in our arms, having prayed over them, and having wept at their graves. To us, theirs are the visible faces and audible cries of the millions of unborn Americans whose lives have been snuffed out by abortion.
Because of Aaron and Katherine, Christmas has taken on an expanded meaning for us. This special day marks the birth of a Child Who, had He been conceived today, might well have become a statistic of the abortion industry. The setting in which He was conceived, judged by current standards, would have made abortion a predictable "choice" today.
Consider the following circumstances.
His mother was young, unmarried, uneducated and poor. She was clearly unable to support a child on her own.
When her fiancee found out she was pregnant, his first thought was to call off the wedding. The Child's birth would only have brought increased hardship to a family already financially strapped.
Clearly, the Child would have a low quality of life.
Today, as you know, these circumstances comprise a classic profile for recommending abortion. It is chilling to think that, in our time, He through Whom the world was made would have been a likely candidate to end up in a dumpster behind a “clinic”!
Some would say, "Don't disturb me with such unpleasant thoughts, especially at Christmas." I would only ask one question: if just thinking about abortion is so troublesome – at Christmas, or at any time – then how much more ghastly is the fact that it happens a couple thousand times a day in our nation?
This Christmas, as you celebrate the birth of the Holy Child, may His Spirit stir your heart about the plight of our nation's unborn citizens, for whom He was born and died. Then, as you enter the new year, please do something in Jesus' name for the unborn children. Do it for His sake. And for theirs.
On the day they were born, Aaron and Katherine were very much alive, and struggled to survive. We will never forget their valiant battle for life, their little chests heaving to draw breath. They cried, they wiggled, and they reacted in pain to the intravenous tubes inserted into their tiny bodies. They were alive. If born today, they would likely continue to live.
And yet, these living persons, little Aaron and Katherine, could have been legally aborted an hour before they were born, if we had been predisposed to do so. It would have been legal – and it would have been monstrous!
Debbie and I will never be the same, having held them in our arms, having prayed over them, and having wept at their graves. To us, theirs are the visible faces and audible cries of the millions of unborn Americans whose lives have been snuffed out by abortion.
Because of Aaron and Katherine, Christmas has taken on an expanded meaning for us. This special day marks the birth of a Child Who, had He been conceived today, might well have become a statistic of the abortion industry. The setting in which He was conceived, judged by current standards, would have made abortion a predictable "choice" today.
Consider the following circumstances.
His mother was young, unmarried, uneducated and poor. She was clearly unable to support a child on her own.
When her fiancee found out she was pregnant, his first thought was to call off the wedding. The Child's birth would only have brought increased hardship to a family already financially strapped.
Clearly, the Child would have a low quality of life.
Today, as you know, these circumstances comprise a classic profile for recommending abortion. It is chilling to think that, in our time, He through Whom the world was made would have been a likely candidate to end up in a dumpster behind a “clinic”!
Some would say, "Don't disturb me with such unpleasant thoughts, especially at Christmas." I would only ask one question: if just thinking about abortion is so troublesome – at Christmas, or at any time – then how much more ghastly is the fact that it happens a couple thousand times a day in our nation?
This Christmas, as you celebrate the birth of the Holy Child, may His Spirit stir your heart about the plight of our nation's unborn citizens, for whom He was born and died. Then, as you enter the new year, please do something in Jesus' name for the unborn children. Do it for His sake. And for theirs.
Thursday, December 07, 2006
GOD OF THE IMPOSSIBLE
Mary was going to have a baby! It was simply impossible!
As if it weren’t scary enough when the angel Gabriel appeared right there in front of her, he proceeded to pronounce an incomprehensible, utterly implausible announcement, “You’re going to have a child . . .” I can envision Mary thinking something like this: “Whoa, now! Wait just a minute here. I know enough about the birds and bees to be one-hundred percent certain that I’m not going to have a child any time within the next nine months.” How do you suppose this young lady might have felt faced with the unimaginable, the unthinkable . . . the impossible?
“It just can’t be.”
How many times do we have the same kind of feeling when faced with the previously unimaginable?
It just can’t be . . .
. . . God would never let that happen.
It just can’t be . . .
. . . I’m not ready yet.
It just can’t be . . .
. . . I’d never be able to stand it.
And yet, though you try to convince yourself that it just can’t be, there the just-can’t-be thing is, in all its immense be-ing-ness, staring you in the face in bold defiance of your feeble self-assertion. It just can’t be . . . but it is!
And then what?
When the what of God’s plan exceeds our comprehension, we usually look for explanations. So did Mary. And when Mary asked “How shall this be?” Gabriel’s explanation was simply this: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will come to rest on you . . .”
What other indisputable impossibilities of life are out there, waiting to be blown away by God’s promise? “The Holy Spirit will come on you . . .”
I’ll never amount to anything!
“The Holy Spirit will come upon you . . .”
There’s nothing that can be done about it!
“The Holy Spirit will come upon you . . .”
This marriage is doomed.
“The Holy Spirit will come upon you . . .”
Like it or lump it, that’s just the way I am.
“The Holy Spirit will come upon you . . .”
The “then what” is this: God wants to do the impossible in your life.
Here’s the how: the Holy Spirit will come upon you.
And the why? Mary already knew that one. Do you? It’s simple. God wants to do the impossible in your life because He chose you for His glory. You didn’t earn it, you don’t deserve it and you never will. God just chose you.
And so Mary’s response is the key for us. She may have had doubts, may have still thought it all quite incomprehensible. And yet she expressed her faith in God’s plan with words we all should pray a dozen times a day: “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord. Let it be to me according to Your Word.”
As if it weren’t scary enough when the angel Gabriel appeared right there in front of her, he proceeded to pronounce an incomprehensible, utterly implausible announcement, “You’re going to have a child . . .” I can envision Mary thinking something like this: “Whoa, now! Wait just a minute here. I know enough about the birds and bees to be one-hundred percent certain that I’m not going to have a child any time within the next nine months.” How do you suppose this young lady might have felt faced with the unimaginable, the unthinkable . . . the impossible?
“It just can’t be.”
How many times do we have the same kind of feeling when faced with the previously unimaginable?
It just can’t be . . .
. . . God would never let that happen.
It just can’t be . . .
. . . I’m not ready yet.
It just can’t be . . .
. . . I’d never be able to stand it.
And yet, though you try to convince yourself that it just can’t be, there the just-can’t-be thing is, in all its immense be-ing-ness, staring you in the face in bold defiance of your feeble self-assertion. It just can’t be . . . but it is!
And then what?
When the what of God’s plan exceeds our comprehension, we usually look for explanations. So did Mary. And when Mary asked “How shall this be?” Gabriel’s explanation was simply this: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will come to rest on you . . .”
What other indisputable impossibilities of life are out there, waiting to be blown away by God’s promise? “The Holy Spirit will come on you . . .”
I’ll never amount to anything!
“The Holy Spirit will come upon you . . .”
There’s nothing that can be done about it!
“The Holy Spirit will come upon you . . .”
This marriage is doomed.
“The Holy Spirit will come upon you . . .”
Like it or lump it, that’s just the way I am.
“The Holy Spirit will come upon you . . .”
The “then what” is this: God wants to do the impossible in your life.
Here’s the how: the Holy Spirit will come upon you.
And the why? Mary already knew that one. Do you? It’s simple. God wants to do the impossible in your life because He chose you for His glory. You didn’t earn it, you don’t deserve it and you never will. God just chose you.
And so Mary’s response is the key for us. She may have had doubts, may have still thought it all quite incomprehensible. And yet she expressed her faith in God’s plan with words we all should pray a dozen times a day: “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord. Let it be to me according to Your Word.”
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
